Dean-O-Holics pays tribute to the Rat Pack

From all accounts, Bob Caudle always had a pretty good voice. But he also had standards.

"I never wanted to be 'that karaoke guy,' that guy who kept going out there hoping to get discovered," Caudle said. "That was my worst fear."

Then again, that's how the seed to The Dean-O-Holics was planted: Caudle, on a family vacation aboard a cruise ship, whimsically entered a singing contest, did his best impromptu Dean Martin trademark "Everybody Loves Somebody," and won.

And when Caudle did dabble into karaoke, "it always seemed like Dean was the only one I could do well. People would say, 'You know who you sound like?' I finally gave in and started

a band."

And a career as the late martini-drinking crooner began, though it took several years before The Dean-O-Holics emerged with the tribute to Martin, Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Packers staking out Silo's in Napa on Aug. 16.

"Bringin' Back the Cool" has brought a lot of work, travel and plaudits to Caudle, a Grass Valley resident who totes a five-piece band and tribute artists wherever there's a demand.

It's more than merely bending a nostalgic ear for those longing for those good ol' Vegas days,

said Caudle.

"We get people 20 to 90 diggin' the show," he said.

What can people forking over 20 bucks in Napa expect?

Heck, laughed Caudle, "I don't know what to expect."

"No two shows are the same," he said.

Sure, the music's a key component, Caudle said. But the unscripted humor between songs is also one of the magnets to the production that's led to engagements with everyone from Wayne Newton to Joe Piscopo, to praise from Sinatra's widow to singing with Martin's

Caudle said he definitely leaves the Martin character on stage, though he's seen "tribute artists" who take their portrayal a little too seriously.

Take that Sinatra impersonator whose career with Caudle was brief.

""We're in this one place, having bloody Marys, and everyone comes around to get paid," Caudle said. "This Frank walks up and says, 'Who's that broad?' He was talking to my girlfriend at the time. That was his

last gig."

Though Caudle never became obsessed with Martin, he recalled watching The Dean Martin Variety Show as a kid.

"I remember the essence of the guy," Caudle said. "I did go back to watch a few things, like when you make a mistake on stage, turn it into something better."

Fortunately, said Caudle, while there might be thousands of Elvis Presleys roaming the country and a number of Sinatras, "Dean is harder to find."

Beyond the sound, the real Martin was 6-foot -- just like Caudle.

"He looked taller because Frank (5-foot-8) and Sammy (5-foot-5) were so short,"

Caudle said.

Caudle's been flown around the nation to perform as Martin plus overseas in USO tours with Newton.

"You never know what the audience will want," he said. "Sometimes they want to dance and if they do, you don't want to be joking around."

In the 100-seat Silo's, "you know the audience is there," Caudle said. "If you get into a 1,000 set venue, it's just

an ocean."

Though the Dean-O-Holics typically do small theaters, clubs and weddings, there was that private party when a millionaire's wife flew the band in a private jet to her home in Alaska as a birthday gift for her husband.

There were only 14 guests present. But nobody was going to argue. Each member of the group was tipped $5,000.

"We were doing a gig in Hawaii the next day, so we had money to spend," Caudle said.